Rikki Bettinger
Honors College Staff
Director, Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards
Email: rrbettin@central.uh.edu
As the director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards, Rikki Bettinger supports students across the university as they pursue undergraduate research, directly overseeing programs including the Mellon Research Scholars and Senior Honors Thesis programs. She received her doctorate in Latin American history from the University of Houston in 2018. She specializes in 19th century transnational Latin American and Caribbean women’s histories with an emphasis on travel writings in the Americas. She also completed a master’s degree in history at The University of Texas at San Antonio and holds a bachelor’s degree in history secondary education from the University of Northern Colorado. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, she taught high school history in San Antonio.